


The Molting Season

by Antarctic_Echoes, Navaros



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Celestials have a horrible taste in TV shows, F/M, Feathers Everywhere, Grooming, Lucifer wouldn't tell, Or Several, She is the best, Wings, back scratches are the best, calamine lotion ruins the Devil's reputation, caring Chloe, cranky Devil, evil gummi bears, maybe one exploded bird, molting, naked chicken wings, sugar addicted Devil, the Devil needs a flock, without bbq sauye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-24 14:39:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16642118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctic_Echoes/pseuds/Antarctic_Echoes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navaros/pseuds/Navaros
Summary: Even when his wings helped to save the Detective, they came with a price - a very annoying price which he hated so much. Oh Dad, why? What was he thinking when he had created this little detail? Obviously not very much, but there was the Detective to the rescue.Post Season 3.





	1. Even weirder than normal

**Author's Note:**

> Another Story from Antarctic_Echoes and me.  
> As always it was a pleasure to write with you my dear <3<3<3<3
> 
> And I love writing with you, Navaros! <3 <3 <3
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker, Mazikeen and Trixie are owned by Vertigo Comics, DC Comics, Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey, and everyone else involved with the Lucifer TV show and comic books. We own nothing and make no money on this.

 

  


 

Lucifer Morningstar’s back itched.  Terribly.

It had started as a little niggle.  Nothing much, really. He woke up in the morning, and there it was.  He reached his hand behind to scratch it, but it was just beyond his fingertips.  Pulling himself out of bed, he rubbed his back on the wall corner. That took care of it.

For a while.

When he wore his clothes, it was worse.  The fabric’s whisper softness teased the itch, irritating it constantly.  He tried to ignore it. He told himself that he could -- he was the Devil, after all.  An itch was nothing!

By the time he had driven to the precinct, the itch had grown into a horrible burning, tingling sensation that demanded attention.  Rubbing his back against the Corvette’s seat had done nothing but irritate it more. He tried to scratch at it while driving, but had almost driven into a wall -- and that would have been a waste of a perfectly good car, so he stopped that.  But oh, how he longed to get rid of the pesky itch!

Once he parked his car, he ran into the precinct and grabbed the first person he saw -- the desk sergeant -- and begged her to scratch his back.  Her eyes had grown hungry and she readily agreed -- but to Lucifer’s horror, he found that even under her ministrations, the itch would not go away!

Dashing from person to person, he had everyone he ran into scratch his back, but to no avail.  The itch was driving him mad and would not stop! No one could relieve his agony. Letting out a grunt of frustration, he almost ran to his partner’s desk.  Chloe Decker was immune to his charms, and she made him mortal. Perhaps she could satisfy this horrible torture he was suddenly experiencing?

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Detective!”

Chloe looked up from her mountain of paperwork, surprised to see a bedraggled Lucifer Morningstar rushing toward her, his hair askew, his jacket slung over his arm and his white silk shirttail rucked up around his waist.  His frantic expression drew her alarm and she rose out of her chair as fear stabbed at her heart. What kind of trouble had he gotten himself into?

“What’s wrong, what is it?”

He stopped in front of her, panting hard, his face white and drawn.  “Please, you must help me! I... I’m desperate!”

Concern for her partner marred her brow.  If he was in some sort of trouble, she’d drop everything to get him out of it, no matter what it was -- even if he _was_ the Devil.  The thought crossed her mind that her feelings went far beyond what they should have, considering who he was, but she swiftly pushed that away.  It was just friendship -- they had gone through a lot together, and finally knowing who and what he was had only strengthened that bond. That’s all it was... or so she told herself.  “What can I do?”

“Scratch my back.”

For a long moment she just stared at him, not quite believing what she was hearing.  “What?”

“Scratch my back.”

“You mean figuratively, right?  You know, ‘You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours?’”

Lucifer threw his arms up in frustration, then twisted one arm behind his back to try and reach the spot that itched.  Grimacing, his lips pulled back from his gritted teeth, he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. His voice was low and tight as he ground out, “No, I mean _scratch my back.”_  He gestured wildly over his shoulder.  “I have this horrible itch and I can’t reach it.”

Sitting back down, Chloe considered slapping his face for scaring her so badly.  It was the oddest request she had gotten from him in a while, and best left to his legion of lovers.  There was _no way_ she was going to scratch his back.  It was too weird. Shaking her head, she let out a derisive laugh.  “You gotta be kidding me.”

His eyes rolled in his sockets like a frightened horse’s.  “I’m not kidding, Detective. Please -- help me!”

Placing her hands on the desk, she leaned forward with her brows furrowed.  “This is too weird -- even for you, Lucifer. Is this some sort of Devil thing?”  Panic struck as a thought occurred to her. Sitting up straight, she glanced around her as her voice fell to a whisper.  “Are you allergic to your father? Is God here?”

“No! Believe me, Detective, I would enjoy nothing more than to be allergic to dear old Dad -- then maybe he’d leave me alone!  But the Devil doesn’t get allergies.” Squeezing his eyes shut again, Lucifer threw himself in the chair opposite her and laced his fingers so tightly that his knuckles grew white.  “Please, Detective, I would not be asking if this was not of the utmost importance.”

Chloe studied him.  Sweat beaded his brow, and his face had lines on it that were new.  He looked worse than she had ever seen him -- it was obvious he was suffering, and she couldn’t leave him like that, no matter how weird his request was.  Telling herself she was a fool, she got to her feet and beckoned him to follow.

“One word of this to _anyone_ and I will beat you to a pulp,” she hissed as she ushered him into a storage room and shut the door.

“I give you my word -- I’ll tell no one. Just... _help me.”_  

He stood there in front of her, looking as miserable as a waterlogged kitten.  Taking a hold of his shoulders, she turned him around and started scratching his back -- tentatively at first.

“No, higher, at the shoulder blades.  Oh, there -- there!” Groaning, he arched his back against her hands like a cat getting a back rub.  “Oh, yes. Yes! Harder.... Harder, Detective! Ohhhhh....”

Heat rushed into her cheeks as she scratched between Lucifer’s shoulder blades.  His moans of ecstasy made it sound as if they were making hot, passionate love. Embarrassed, she stopped, but he barked, “No!” so forcefully that she immediately returned to her task.  His rapturous cries, growing louder by the second, stirred her insides, igniting such a blazing fire within her that she finally ripped her hands away from his back.

Lucifer let out a strangled cry and took a staggering step forward, before turning on his heel and pinning her with glazed eyes.  “Detective, you must continue --”

“No.  This is too weird.”  Crossing her arms in front of her, she dared him to deny it.

He bit his lower lip, looking like she had just abandoned him to a pack of wolves.  “Detective --”

“I have work to do.”  She made to move past him, but he sidestepped in front of her.  His eyes shone with desperation.

“Please, Detective.  I know it’s... strange, and believe me, I don’t understand it myself, but... you’re the only one who can relieve my suffering.”

“Lucifer....”  She sighed. “Everyone will think we’re having sex.”

A sultry look grew on his face.  “Would that be so bad?”

Rolling her eyes, she pushed past him.  “As if you have to ask.”

“Detective --”

“Go home, Lucifer.  Go home until you’ve got all this --” She waved her hands at him, “-- out of your system.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

And so he went.  Not like he had any choice, really.  

She had thrown him out. HIM! After all he had done for her! Why, he had even gone to that horrible bakery to get her favorite lemon bars earlier this week. How could she not help him now?

Her scratching was the only thing that really eased the pain. On his way back he ignored even more driving rules than than normal because the feeling was nearly unbearable.

Lucifer had to sit very awkwardly in his car, for he couldn’t stand his back touching the seats anymore - it instantly sent a jolt of itching through him. After several near accidents, he finally arrived at LUX and as soon as he was in his elevator, he got out of his jacket and shirt. He didn’t wear a waistcoat today because of his stupid back.

When he entered his penthouse, the first thing he did was rub himself against the stone pillars. That didn’t really do anything to help him, but he was a stubborn Devil and tried it. Maybe something had changed since the morning?

Apparently not. Lucifer groaned in frustration and punched the pillar, leaving a hole in it. It was its own fault for not helping him.

What the hell was this? This kind of itchiness reminded him of his time in hell, but there was no ash on the earthly plane to get stuck between his feathers and irritate him. His wings - of course! He unfurled them, and rubbed them against the pillar; it helped a little, but not enough. Another idea hit him - he stripped off his trousers and shorts and decided to take a shower. A scorching hot shower.

He was the Devil and he preferred a water temperature that would burn any human. But 180F – because, of course, he had an extra hot water pipe built in - was warm and toasty for him and he enjoyed it. The water ran down his back and wings, and for now it helped.

Lucifer knew he couldn’t stay in here forever and the water wouldn’t help for long. He leaned his forehead against the tiles and thought. Maybe he should ask the Detective to come over?

No, she was creeped out already.

Maze? Also not an option. Not only was their relationship still strained, but she was with Linda and his therapist would probably kill him if he disturbed their little vacation.

So for now, all he could do was stay in here - maybe if he cooked himself long enough it would stop? He grabbed his left wing, pulled it towards him and inspected it. Nothing unusual, his skin on the wing was irritated and he could pull out two of his down feathers, but that was normal. He lost old and damaged feathers from time to time, like humans lost hair.

Oh, how he wished his Detective would be here now.  she would be annoyed and roll her eyes at him, but at least she would keep him company.

After a while he left the shower, flapped his wings a few times to dry them as much as possible, but didn’t dare touch them with a towel yet. The itching was tolerable at the moment and he would enjoy it for as long as it lasted. But what now? Sitting down was out of question - he knew how that would end - and lying down in bed? Alone? Preposterous.

Fuming, he strode to the living room and threw himself down on the couch, lying on his stomach with one of his wings draped on the seat back and the other on the floor.  Bloody hell, the sun wasn’t anywhere near to setting, and yet here he was, trapped with this infernal itching when he should have been enjoying himself with his Detective!  It had taken a long time for her to come to terms with who he really was, but they had finally gotten back onto an even footing. Although she kept things strictly on a “friends” basis -- which hurt a bit, truth be told -- he was happy to work on cases with her again.  

And then _this_ had to happen!

He cast an angry look over his shoulder at his wings, then reached out and grabbed one of the leather pillows.  Clutching it to him, he rested his cheek against it and closed his eyes. His wings twitched behind him as the itchiness started to return, but he refused to acknowledge it.  If he slept, maybe it would go away....

He dreamed that he was in the precinct, standing at the Detective’s desk with his wings out, except they were on fire.  The acrid smell made him want to retch as black smoke coiled all around him, but Chloe didn’t lift her head up from her paperwork.  

“Detective, I’m on fire!” he cried, but she just waved at him without looking up.

“Lucifer, I don’t have time for your metaphors right now.”  

“It would be hyperbole, not a metaphor, _if I wasn’t literally on fire!”_  He grabbed one of his wings and beat at the flames, which only made the burning pain worse.  Gritting his teeth, he cast another glance at his partner. “Will you please stop doing your bloody paperwork and help me?”

She still didn’t look up.  “Lucifer, you’re the Devil.  You should be used to fire.”

“This is different!”  He looked over his shoulder and saw that his feathers were shriveling into soot, and his appendages had turned into charcoal-encrusted barbecue chicken wings....

Lucifer woke up with a jolt, his heart pounding in his chest.  Still in the throes of the dream, he didn’t recognize where he was at first.  But then he realized there was no smell of singed feathers, and although his wings still burned, he wasn’t on fire.  Letting out a sigh, he saw that the sun was still out, but the shadows had grown long and darkness was creeping into the corners of the living room.  As he pushed himself off the leather cushions, his bare skin made a horrible noise as it pulled away from the fabric. Grimacing, he levered himself up to a seated position and looked down at the ugly red marks all over the front of his body.  “Well, that’s the last time I sleep naked on the couch....”

Pulling one of his wings forward, his eyes widened at the big patches of naked skin visible, with red scratches all over the surface.  His wings looked like a semi-plucked chicken’s! What had happened?! His heart dropped to his knees at the white feathers littering the floor.  His wings still itched and burned -- he must have scratched in his sleep!

“No, no, no....”  He tried to pick up his feathers, but the breeze from his movements sent them wafting into the air.  He grabbed at them, but they slipped through his fingers.

Was he losing his wings like Amenadiel?  He really didn’t want to give them up -- he was finally getting used to the idea of having them back.  He wanted to fly the Detective over the city at night someday, when they were... well... closer than they were now.

The soft ding of the elevator interrupted his panicked thoughts.  His heart stopped, then went into overdrive as he leaped off the couch and ran to his bedroom.  He couldn’t let anyone see him like this!

“Lucifer? Are you home?”

Even muffled through the bathroom door he would recognize her voice everywhere. Of _course_ it was her. One more reason to stay here and never come out again.

Chloe came into Lucifer’s penthouse, looking for him. It was too silent for her liking, and she remembered all the times he had run for whatever reason. Was this the case again? She hoped he was over it, after all the things they had gone through and since she had come around with him being the Devil…well, mostly, at least.

She was still wary in some ways, paying more attention to his characteristics and unusual behavior.

“Lucifer, come on, we need to talk about today.”

His behavior had been weird even for him, and it irritated her, made her angry, even. She was just recovering from the whole Pierce debacle and she really didn’t need Lucifer’s antics now.

But there was still no sound from her devilish partner. She looked around and saw big, stray feathers littered about the living room. They looked ruffled and old, somehow wrong, but the size of them told her to whom they belonged. She followed the little trail of white to his couch, where she found more of them. It looked like several birds had exploded.

She knew about the wings, of course, but since she had seen all of him they hadn’t talked about it. And now the evidence of his inhuman nature was in front of her. There were even some of the big primaries, one of them as long and wide as her arm.

Why were all these feathers here? Now she was worried about her partner.

“Lucifer? I know you are here, stop hiding.”

Chloe was a little on edge. His stupid scratching plea had been stuck in her head all day, especially after she had found out that he asked the whole precinct about it.

It was just so Not-Lucifer-like.

She followed the little line of stray feathers and landed in front of his bathroom…his closed bathroom. That was unusual - she knew how much Lucifer hated closed doors. She knocked, then listened to see if she could hear any noises from inside.

“Are you in there?”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. Of course he was - his tactic to stay hidden seemed to have failed, but he couldn’t leave there looking like this . His Devil Face was ugly enough, but now he looked like a partly plucked chicken, and the stupid burning itching had gotten even worse. He tried to hide his wings, but that only increased his agony and they unfurled again on their own. Maybe if he concentrated enough, he could hide them for a minute and shoo her out of his home? He knew how stubborn the Detective could be.

Concentrating very hard, he shrugged his shoulders and put away his wings.  The burning and itching was horrible, but he straightened his spine. He could do this!  Sweat beaded his brow as he reached for the doorknob....

And then the wings popped out again, one limb slamming into his perfectly ironed shirts and knocking them to the floor.  Lucifer looked at the pile of crumpled clothes and sighed. Well, putting his unruly wings away certainly wasn’t the answer.

More knocking.  “I heard that! I know you’re in there, Lucifer.  Come on, open the door.”

Absolutely not.  He would never open the door again.  He’d live in the closet for the rest of his eternal life -- or at least until she got hungry and went home.  

He tried to keep his tone jovial.  “Detective!” His voice came out as a squeak, so he cleared his throat and started again.  “Detective, what are you doing here?”

“I’m worried about you.  Will you open the door?”

“I can’t.  I’m... naked.”  Which was the truth -- he still hadn’t put any clothes on.  “You don’t want to see me naked, do you?”

“I’ve seen you naked.  Besides, you’ve been naked before and it’s never stopped you.”

“Yes, but I doubt you’d want to see it again.”   _Please, please go away._

He could practically hear her eye roll through the door.  “Lucifer, you’re in a room full of clothes. Just put something on and open the door. ”

His stomach churned at her insistence.  He needed to find some other reason to shoo her away, but his mind had gone blank.  Shifting from foot to foot, he stalled for time. “Ah, yes, well... about that....”

“Yes?”

The pile of his shirts caught his eye.  “My clothes are wrinkled -- I can’t possibly wear them.  You best go home, Detective.”

“Lucifer, I am _not_ leaving here until we have our talk.”  

The frustration in her voice was quite evident.  Leaning his forehead against the door, he closed his eyes as his shoulders slumped.  Why was she so stubborn? She had dismissed him earlier that day -- why couldn’t she just do the same now?  

“Detective....”  His voice petered out.  Why did he have to resemble something out of a horror movie?  If she saw him now, she’d laugh at him, and that was something he couldn’t bear.  From anyone else, maybe... but not from her. He sighed. “Very well, then. Let’s talk like this.”

“Like this?!  But we can’t!”

“Why not?  I can hear you, you can hear me....”

He heard her strangled cry, then silence.  When she finally spoke, her voice was low and pleading.  “Come on, Lucifer. We’re partners. I need to talk to you and I can’t do it with a piece of wood separating us.  Open the door... please.”

_Please._

Bloody hell, if it hadn’t been for that word, he could have stayed locked up in his closet forever!  His insides roiled as he rubbed his forehead. There was no getting around it. He’d have to open the door.

Maybe if he stayed naked, the Detective would run? Or turn around? Or maybe she would just be so happy to see his divine and naked self that she wouldn’t pay attention to the useless things formerly known as his wings.

Maybe he could scare her off with his crispy side? She hadn’t taken the last view of his true self very well, but no, he couldn’t scare her. Lucifer was just happy that she hadn’t rejected him or was scared. Sure, she was more wary around him, but at the moment their partnership worked pretty well between them.

He braced himself and opened the door, just enough so he could peek outside. Most of his body was still hidden inside, including his wings, and his right one was rubbing itself against the door on its own. Lucifer couldn’t make it stop.

“So, door open. Now we can talk.” He wondered what she wanted to talk about. Maybe finally the other shoe had dropped? She finally saw him for what he was and was now here to end it all? Humans never meant anything good when they ‘needed to talk’. He had seen that in a lot of movies.

Chloe looked at her partner with even more worry now, for he was pale and definitely unwell. His whole posture screamed uneasiness and the sweat on his forehead wasn’t a good sign either. The Devil didn’t sweat, that much she knew.

“Lucifer, this is ridiculous. Come out of there, right now.”

“But, I’m still naked.” Hopefully that would deter her.

“Like I said, I’ve seen you naked more often than I would like, so stop acting like a child.” She always wondered how an ancient being like him could act this way. His parents really did a shitty job. And now she had enough of his attitude. If he wasn’t willing to come out on his own, she would make him. She knew the one spot he was ticklish, so she just poked him right above his hip bone and he jerked away, letting go of the door and stumbling backwards.

His wings flapped reflexively and made even more chaos in his closet, while the motion also sent more stray feathers towards Chloe. It looked a little like another bird had exploded.

And now? Lucifer looked at her, humiliated, naked and waiting for her to make fun of his ridiculous appearance. He tried wrapping himself in a winged cocoon, which didn’t work very well with so many feathers missing.

“Oh Lucifer...”

Cringing at the pity in her voice, he scrambled backwards, pushing himself deeper into his closet until he was hidden among his hanging trousers.  He sat down hard and wrapped his arms around his knees. “Don’t... don’t look at me.”

“Lucifer....”  He saw her crouch in front of his hiding place.

“I don’t want you to see me like this.”  He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why don’t you come back later when I’m looking more like my debonair self?  I’d be more than happy to let you admire my naked splendor then.” He pulled the trousers closer around him, wishing he could disappear.   Why didn’t he have Amenadiel’s power of slowing down time? Then he could run away and she’d never see the ruins of his wings....

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said gently and held out her hand.  “Come out. You look like you’re in pain. Let me see.”

His heart hammered in his chest as his voice dropped down to a whisper.  “You’ll laugh.”

“I won’t, I promise.”  

As he sat there, debating whether or not to reveal himself, his wings moved of their own volition, knocking the trousers to the floor as they tried to rub themselves on the wall and the hanging rod.  More white feathers fell off in clumps. Grabbing a set of trousers, the fallen angel clutched it to him and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable laughter.

Long seconds ticked by as he waited, but he didn’t hear her laugh.  In fact, he didn’t hear anything. Cracking his eyes open, he jumped when he saw she had moved right next to him, tilting her head so she could see his expression.  The air whooshed out of his lungs, and his heart stuttered before pounding even more furiously than before. She was so close, and her aqua eyes were filled with tenderness....

She reached over and eased the twisted trousers from his hands.  “Come to the bedroom where I can see you better. Let me see your wings.”

He winced.  “But they don’t look majestic!”

“That’s okay.  Come on.” Taking his hand, she helped him to his feet and led him to the bedroom.

Once there, Lucifer stood with his shoulders hunched, humiliated as Chloe inspected his appendages.  As if they knew she was viewing them, they spread out like an eagle’s... well, more like half-naked chicken’s wings.  His face burned and he shifted from foot to foot as she hissed through her teeth.

Finally, she stood before him again and touched his arm.  He looked up at her, almost afraid to meet her gaze. “Well?”

“You have what looks like a rash on your wings -- it’s kind of bumpy -- and the skin is bleeding where you scratched it.  Do you have any aloe vera?”

He shook his head.  “No....”

Chloe looked at the ceiling and ticked off a list on her fingers.  “Aloe vera gel and some calamine lotion for the itching, and maybe a nice moisturizing cream.”  She patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll fix this. I’m going to run to the drug store -- I should be back in thirty minutes.  Get some pants on while I’m gone, okay?”

“Fine,” Lucifer mumbled, still feeling embarrassed and humiliated. He never thought being naked in front of Chloe would feel like this, but this was also never a situation he had imagined.

“And stop scratching,” she told him before the elevator doors closed.

After the Detective left, he put on some pants.

He still felt absolutely humiliated and uncomfortable, for every movement that made his wings move made them itch. He hadn’t felt like this since he left hell, where the ash in his feathers always drove him nuts. But why now? It felt so much worse this time and it took all of his willpower to keep himself from rubbing himself raw against the walls. Maybe he could just use a fork or his kitchen knife for scratching? No, probably not the best idea. Chloe would be furious if he did it. Instead of scratching, he got himself another drink and waited.

Patience wasn’t his strongest trait and he started pacing around after just a few minutes. The remaining feathers on his wings poofed up. It seemed the loss of feathers had stopped for now, but he still looked like an inflamed, half-plucked chicken.

When he heard the soft sound of his elevator, he turned around and smiled at Chloe.

The Detective was relieved that he at least wore pants. The wings really looked bad, and she wondered if he was allergic to something. She made him mortal, so he probably could be allergic to something when she was near, right?

“I brought some stuff that will help you and no, you are not fine,” she said before he could open his mouth and respond to anything.

Now he stood there, looking a little lost, and she sighed. “We will start with the aloe vera and then the oil - that should soothe the itching.”

Chloe put on her mom face - she was dealing with a cranky, celestial child here, and it reminded her of the time Trixie had gotten the chickenpox. She would take care of this, even if it was a little awkward.

“Sit down.”

Lucifer huffed and pouted.

“Stop that attitude right now, mister. You obviously can’t do this yourself.” There was no way he could reach all of the wings by himself. Now she wondered more about angel behavior. She was curious, but she also didn’t want to think too much about it. Chloe tried to push all of that away, which was hard when the Devil with wings extended stood in front of her.

“Come now…sit and let me take care of it.”

Now it was her time to get a little nervous. She was about to touch angel wings and it would be her first time.

As Lucifer pulled out one of the bar stools and sat down backwards on it, she set the bag of goods onto the counter beside him and ran her hands down her jeans.  She could do this. They were just limbs, right? No big deal. Just angel wings. Celestial angel wings. Big, white, freaking celestial angel wings....

Oh god, she was flipping out.  Taking deep breaths, she reached for the aloe vera gel and squirted some onto her hands.  As she rubbed them together and prepared to apply the gel onto the _big, white, freaking celestial angel wings that belonged to her partner,_ Lucifer suddenly let out a loud scream.

Letting out a yelp herself, Chloe leaped back, her heart hammering in her chest.  “What is it? What?”

“That stings!” he cried.

For a moment she just stood there, blinking at him.  “I... I haven’t even touched you, yet.”

He straightened, then cast a glance over his shoulder.  “You... you haven’t?”

“No!”

His cheeks took on a ruddy hue.  “But... it _will_ sting, won’t it?”

A nervous laugh escaped Chloe.  He was worse than Trixie! “Maybe, you big baby, but I’m sure you can handle it.”

He frowned at her and lifted his chin.  “Of course I can handle it. I’m the Devil.  I can handle anything.”

The absurdity of the conversation finally got to her, and she giggled.  “Oh sure, that’s why you’re screaming before I even touched you.”

Sniffing, he turned back toward the bar, presenting her with his outstretched wings.  “That wasn’t a scream -- it was... a sonorous vocalization issued in anticipation of possible discomfort.”

She snorted.  “Riiiiight.” Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and reached for the wing closest to her, which was far more patchy and scratched than the other.  Her hands paused just inches from his skin. “Are you ready?”

The wing immediately stiffened as she saw his shoulders tense up.  There was no doubt in her mind that he was probably squeezing his eyes shut, as well.  “As ready as ever, Detective.”

“Okay.”  Biting her lower lip, she touched the wing, smoothing her hand over the raised scrapes on the exposed skin.  She had expected it to feel strange, otherworldly -- alien, even -- but it didn’t. It just felt like skin... warm and soft.  It was just... Lucifer.

He shrieked at her touch.  “That’s cold!”

She leaned over to see his face.  “But does it sting?”

Her partner’s eyes widened a fraction, surprise all over his expression.  “No... it doesn’t.”

“Good.  Why don’t you relax while I get to work, then?”  The tension eased from her body as she rubbed the gel all over his injuries.  At first Lucifer sat stiffly, but eventually he relaxed, until he finally folded his arms on the counter and rested his head on them.

Once she had slathered the healing balm all over the wings, she smiled with pride and reached for the calamine lotion.  “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

A snore answered her.

Somehow it calmed her to take care of the wings. She was doing something for him that hardly anybody else could do. And she obviously wasn’t the only one relaxing. That he had fallen asleep was cute and welcome - at least he wouldn’t squirm and whine like a 5 year old, then.

Since he was sleeping his wings drooped, for his body was losing its tenseness.

Chloe smiled softly and started the second round of touching his wings. His skin here was so much warmer than the rest of his body; had this something to do with whatever was wrong with his wings? Or was it normal?

She could feel weird little bumps under his skin where the feathers were missing. Was this something angelic? She wasn’t an angel wing expert.

Lucifer’s wings twitched from time to time and he let out a happy little hum in his sleep. Damn, that was adorable. Yes, the Devil, fallen archangel and annoying partner, could be adorable.

And again she wondered if angels took care of each other’s wings, but she should stop her thoughts right here, because if they did, that meant Lucifer had nobody helping him for eons and that made her furious and sad.

After her task was finished - Lucifer was still asleep - his wings were oily and had to stay out anyway, so she just laid a blanket over his back and put the aloe vera and oil in his bathroom.

Before she left, she wrote him a note that she had to go home to Trixie. Chloe knew better than to leave without any warning. After the truth had been revealed, Lucifer had been on the edge and ready to bolt whenever she merely indicated that she felt uneasy in his presence. Slowly everything had gone back to normal and she would not destroy that again, but there was one last task to do. She took a picture of the sleeping Devil with his unruly hair hanging in his face and out of form. It was adorable.

She was sure the angel would whine again at the precinct in the morning about the mess his wings were, but at least she hoped that he would feel better.


	2. Season of many whines

The next few days passed in the same way for Chloe -- she went to work during the day, then visited Lucifer at night.  Her partner refused to come to the precinct, stating, “I have an image to uphold! I can’t be seen in public with feathers constantly floating around me, and looking like I’m an oily reject from the House of Wax!”  So she had to go to him.

Every night she took a look at the wings, and was dismayed to see that more chunks of feathers had fallen out.  The penthouse looked like a thousand birds had exploded -- there were feathers everywhere -- and Lucifer didn’t seem inclined to clean anything up.  His scratches healed quickly, but she kept up the regimen of aloe vera and calamine lotion to keep him from itching.

The bumps under his skin that she had seen the first day had grown hard and more pronounced, as if there was something forming under the skin.  It wasn’t as bad on the patches that had lost feathers recently, but the texture of the older areas resembled bubble wrap. It worried her, although she didn’t say anything to her partner.  There was no sense in freaking him out even more than he already was.

If only she knew more about angel biology!  Was this normal? Was this supposed to happen?  Or was it a Devil thing? Was he evolving into some big, bumpy, scaly creature?

Her worry finally had her seeking out Maze’s advice.

The demon had been spending a lot of time with Linda, and they had just returned from a little vacation together.  When Chloe got home that night, she was relieved to see that Maze had returned and was sitting on the couch with Trixie... until she saw what they were watching.

“Hey, no horror movies for Trixie!”  She quickly switched off the television.  

“Awww, Mommy!  It was getting to the good part!” whined the little girl.

Chloe gave her daughter the Mom Look.  “Don’t ‘awww Mommy’ me. Go do your homework -- scoot.”

When the little girl scampered off, the detective turned to her roommate and frowned.  “What did I tell you about horror movies and Trixie?”

The demon smirked as she stretched out on the couch.  “It’s just a movie -- and a pretty funny one too. The demons look soooo fake.”  

Rolling her eyes, Chloe took a seat in a nearby armchair.  “Well, I don’t want Trixie watching it. It’ll give her nightmares.”

“That comedy?”  Maze snorted. “Loosen up.  It’s not going to kill her.”

For a long moment Chloe glared at her, then decided to change topics.  “Hey, when you and Lucifer were in Hell, did he ever get allergies?”

“The Devil doesn’t get allergies.”  

“Did he ever... turn into anything?”

The demon laughed.  “Like what, a horned goat-man with a tail?  You should know better by now, Chloe. Lucifer is Lucifer.   He may look like he’s been barbecued, but he’s still him.” Her eyes narrowing, she suddenly sat up and pinned the detective with her sharp gaze.  “Why? What’s this all about?”

She had to admit that the demon’s look could be terrifying and now was no exception, but she could deal with a Devil, so it shouldn’t be a problem to talk to a demon, right?

“Well, he isn’t feeling well.” It was obvious to her, because Lucifer hardly made any jokes about her and the fun he could have with the oil. He was ashamed about his wings - she could clearly see it even when he tried to play it down. And his ‘I don’t care’ attitude was nothing she couldn’t see through. Of course he cared, he was just too proud to admit it, and Chloe could see how he looked at his lost feathers. It was clearly bothering him.

Maze’s stare intensified so she continued.

“He is shedding feathers like crazy, he is itchy, he didn’t leave his penthouse in the last few days - I think sometimes he doesn’t even leave his bed. He is cranky, he doesn’t seem to eat… okay, I don’t know if he has to, but he drinks even more.”

Maze looked at her, at first confused, then she started laughing like she had seen the funniest movie ever.

“What is it, Maze? Is he okay?”

“Of course he is, don’t worry Decker.” Still laughing, she tried to calm down. “That idiot is molting.”

Okay, now it was Chloe’s turn to be even more confused. Molting…angels molted?

“Listen, every few years angels molt to replace the feathers completely. He did that in hell too and urgh, he was just a big, whiny baby back then, rubbing against the stone walls and whining about the lack of water down there to take a bath. He was even more annoying than usual. Normally he complained at least once a day about the ash making him itch, but during a molt? He wouldn’t stop. Oh and ingrown pin feathers - the worst, he would never shut up about that.”

“But why didn’t he say so?” And why was Maze laughing about it? Sure he looked funny with his now almost naked chicken wings, but was clearly uncomfortable.

“We are talking about Lucifer, incredibly vain and proud, and in the beginning he probably didn’t notice. He was without them on earth for some time and now that they are back he has to go through the ‘season of many whines’ again.”

Maze shrugged; there was a lot more to it if you asked her, but Chloe knew better. Lucifer hated asking for help, acting like it would kill him every time. Maybe he would tell her why in the future.  
Chloe sighed. Now at least she knew what she was dealing with.

Going to her computer, she looked up “bird molting.”  Lucifer’s feather loss didn’t look gradual, where feathers replaced themselves a few at a time, but rather catastrophic, like the kind penguins suffered.  Her stomach churned when she read that the whole process took two weeks to complete. Dealing with a cranky, whiny Devil for that long would drive her insane!  Hoping that angel molts were quicker, she kept reading. The article said that once the new replacement feathers -- known as pin feathers -- finished growing, their waxy coating would have to be removed so that they could unfurl.

Gathering some old sheets in preparation for the feather-wiping she’d eventually have to do, Chloe let Trixie know she was going and gave her a hug, thanked Maze for babysitting, then headed over to the penthouse.  On the way, she stopped at the drugstore for more calamine lotion. She had no doubt that when the pin feathers broke through the skin, they would itch terribly.

When the elevator doors opened to the penthouse, Chloe was shocked to see sweets strewn all over the floor and on every piece of furniture.  Candy bars, pop tarts, cookies, empty tubs of ice cream, and platters of half eaten cake littered the living room. And sitting on the edge of the couch with a tub of gummi bears on his lap as he watched television was the Devil himself.  His wings perked up when he spotted her, standing at attention as if to show off their majestic splendor -- only they were naked and sad-looking.

“Lucifer?!”

He beamed at her.  “Detective!”

After setting her things on the bar, she picked through the mess until she reached him.  “What happened? Did you have a party with a bunch of children?”

He snorted.  “A room full of spawn?  Absolutely not. The last thing I need is a horde of nasty little urchins touching everything with their grubby hands.”  Grinning, he held out the tub of gummi bears to her. “Would you like some? They’re sugar-free.”

Chloe felt the blood drain from her face.  She knew the reputation sugar-free gummi candies had.  “Don’t tell me you’re eating those...?”

“Of course I am!”  His naked wings rubbed against each other, scratching the bumpy bare skin as he stuffed a handful of candies in his mouth.  “They’re delicious. I usually despise sugar substitutes, but I had a terrible craving for that bitter, chemical aftertaste.”

She batted at his wings to get them to stop itching themselves.  “Stop that -- you’re going to start bleeding again.” Then she yanked away the plastic container.  “And stop eating these! They’re bad for you.”

Lucifer looked like he was going to throw himself down on the floor and start kicking and screaming, so Chloe quickly pointed at the television.  “Watch your show instead.” She squinted at the screen. “What are you watching, anyway?”

The gummi bears forgotten, Lucifer brightened.  “Viva Laughlin! I don’t understand why it was cancelled after only two episodes.  I pulled in a favor and was able to get copies of the unaired episodes. It’s splendid!  Hugh Jackman sings ‘Sympathy for the Devil’! Well, he tries -- they play the original version over him, but you can still hear his voice.”

She cringed -- she remembered that show.  “Surely there’s something better on?”

His face fell, then brightened again.  “I’ll watch Supertrain -- the finest show ever produced on television!”

“Supertrain?”

Did she even want to know what horrible show that was? She had never heard of it and that probably meant something.

“Fine, watch your silly little show, but stop scratching yourself.” She batted the wings since they started to rub each other again.

“It’s not silly, it’s amazing - you should watch it with me.”

“Let me take care of that…and stop eyeing those awful gummi bears. If you were human you would live on the toilet by now.” She took a look around his penthouse and rolled her eyes. “And probably gain a few pounds. I hope you don’t get a sugar high like Trixie. ‘Lucifer neat freak Morningstar living between candy wrappers’? The tabloids should write about that instead of your latest fling.”

Lucifer pouted at that. “The Devil doesn’t do sugar highs.” _Or flings anymore_. And the Devil also hated that flashy pink lotion Chloe put on his wings. It helped ease the itching, but the color was preposterous. He had a reputation to maintain, even if it was only Chloe seeing him like that. It was humiliating enough already.

What was Dad thinking anyway when he designed his children like bloody birds? Was he having a laugh at them? And what was up with the itching? How was that useful, except for being torture? He was always itchy in hell, but now, here on earth it felt worse and had taken him a while to realize the cause of it.

Of course he kept eyeing his gummi bear tub - it was his comfort food, and he wanted it right now. Although he did relax when Chloe’s hands were on his wings, for that alone was the reason this was the best molting since he had been kicked out. These days he could only imagine how his siblings sat with each other and groomed their wings. Chloe’s treatment came close to it and he closed his eyes. It felt so nice, especially at the places the pinfeathers were already through the skin or would emerge in the next hours.

“The feathers are growing in, they look good.” Chloe examined everything closely and Lucifer froze.

“How do you know that?”

“I can google, you know?” Chloe raised an eyebrow at his unsatisfied look. “Maze told me what was going on with you and I needed to research so that I could help you with the molt.”

Great, just great - now the Detective thought he was a bloody chicken and he felt awful. Would she laugh at him? Ex-Lord of hell with naked wings? That was ridiculous. He could go through this alone - he always did. The only hard part was the waxing coat, and if he couldn’t get that off by rubbing himself on a wall he just asked Maze. There was no difference to his current situation. Except for Chloe’s caring treatment, of course. Why was she doing this anyway? He wasn’t a sick spawn or part of the family.

He tried to get his wings out off her grip, hissing when Chloe’s fingers grazed over one of his pin feathers. He felt just awful - okay, maybe ashamed because she knew what was going on with him.

“Ow!”  Craning his neck, he tried to see what she was doing, but all he could see was bumpy flesh.  “Detective, be gentle!”

He felt her lower his limb.  “Lucifer, I’m just looking at your wing -- I’m hardly touching anything.”

“Then why does it hurt?”

“It looks like one of your pin feathers is growing inward, and that’s going to have to be removed.”

A shudder ran through him.  He remembered how painful it had been when Maze plucked his ingrown feathers.  Grabbing a nearby pillow, he buried his face in it. “No. It’ll hurt.”

“It’ll get infected if we don’t treat it now.”  Chloe sighed and rose off the couch. “I’ll be as gentle as I can, okay?  I’ll be right back.”

As she headed toward his bedroom, he set the pillow aside, snatched up a fistful of gummi bears, and shoved them into his mouth.  If he was going to have to suffer excruciating pain, then he might as well eat what he wanted. Just as he grabbed another handful, Chloe walked up with a towel in a bowl. Setting it down on the coffee table, she slapped his hand from the sugar-free bears.

“Stop eating those.  You’re going to make yourself sick!”  She waved at the television. “Watch your show.”

Glowering, he rubbed his stinging hand and turned on an episode of Supertrain.  When the funky disco music of the opening credits started up, she gaped at him.

“You can’t be serious.”

Heat crept up Lucifer’s neck and into his cheeks.  “It’s a good show.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Whatever. Just stay still, okay?”

Picking up the pillow again, he clutched it to his chest.  “All right.”

Out of the corner of his eye he watched her wring out the towel in the bowl.  When she disappeared behind his back, he felt her pull the wing into an outstretched position and place the warm towel on his skin.  The heat felt good. Smiling, he turned his attention to his program.

The episode meandered, in some places making absolutely no sense, and the characters were caricatures of real people, but he enjoyed it anyway.  He didn’t know why he suddenly had the urge to watch cheesy programs. When the show was over, he let it roll on to the next episode, then straightened and turned to look at his partner.

Chloe had a long-suffering look on her face.  “Don’t make me watch another episode.”

He blinked with surprise.  “You didn’t enjoy it? But it was delightful!  Let me explain all the subtleties of the episode --”

She held up her hand.  “No, don’t. Please.”

The fallen angel eyed a pop tart sitting on the corner of the coffee table and wondered if he could eat it before she could take it away from him.  Probably not -- she was quite fast. Frowning, he said, “When are you going to take out the ingrown feather?”

Chloe chuckled.  “Already done.”

Lucifer’s eyes grew wide.  “But...I didn’t feel anything!”

The corner of her mouth turned up.  “I guess Supertrain is good for distracting Devils.”

He huffed again. “But it really is a great show - we should watch it together.”

“No, definitely not.” She wouldn’t waste her time on this, even though it made Lucifer shut up for more than 5 minutes.

“We could watch the movies your mother was in.” The glee in his voice was almost adorable, but Chloe shuddered.

“Nope, we won’t watch them either. It’s enough to hear her talk about them all the time and be forced to watch them when I was little. I always thought you had a good taste in everything. Well, it seems that movies and TV shows are the exception.”

Chloe chuckled while she took off some of the waxing on the longer pin feathers.

Lucifer wanted to say something, but he was silenced by a shiver that ran through his body and he relaxed instantly.

“Lucifer? Are you alright?” Of course she was worried, what had gotten into her partner?

“Don’t stop, please.” He murmured and his wings spread a little, like they were demanding more attention.

“But, I don’t want to hurt you.” Although he clearly didn’t sound hurt or stressed.

“Oh, you are not, that feels amazing.” The Devil’s voice sounded like a purr, which was something she hadn’t expected from him, but okay. If he liked it she would continue and the work had to be done anyway.

“How often do you go through this, Lucifer?”

He had his eyes fixed on his show, but otherwise was totally relaxed. “Oh, every few years. But don’t worry,I can take care of it myself.”

“Yeah, like rubbing against any rough surface till you bleed or damage the feathers. I’m happy I can help you with…this.” He drove her mad sometimes, but why wasn’t he asking for her help? He should know that she would do something like this for him without batting an eye.

“You are ruining my show, Detective. I’m trying to concentrate here.”

But Chloe didn’t buy it. She stood in front of him, arms crossed,and gave him her baddest ‘Mom look’. “You can always restart your silly show…You know I will help you, right? I know things weren’t easy with everything recently, but we are friends and friends do things for each other.”

Lucifer huffed again, his wings drooping as he got a little nervous. “No, no they do not. Besides Maze, nobody helped me and she wasn’t very gentle, as you can imagine.”

He eyed the poptart again like it would save him from this conversation, and he was clearly nervous - his wings showed it by rubbing against each other again, like they couldn’t find a comfortable resting spot.

“I can do it alone, Detective. I appreciate your help, but I’ve dealt with this nuisance on my own for long time. None of my siblings found the time to help me groom my wings after I was kicked out, so I’m used to it.”

He shrugged again like it was nothing. “Can I watch my show now? I’m missing my favorite episode here, but like I said, we can always watch it together.”

Maybe she would spend some time with him, so he wiggled his eyebrows. He loved to just be with her and would do almost anything to extend the time she stayed here. He would even sacrifice his snacks.

She chuckled.  “Not if you’re going to watch more Supertrain.  Honestly, Lucifer, I don’t understand how you can watch that show.”

“It’s art, Detective!  Pure art!”

Chloe made a scoffing noise.  “Well if you want to watch your ‘art,’ go ahead. I have things to do.”  Picking up the bowl and towel, she headed for the bathroom.

Lucifer’s heart suddenly skipped as his insides went cold.  Was she going home? She couldn’t -- it was far too early! He started to get up, but his wings fluttered with agitation, unbalancing him until he fell back onto the couch.   _Bloody wings...._

“You’re not leaving, are you?”  He tried to keep the anxiety out of his voice, but couldn’t help the pleading note that went into it.

“Not yet,” she called from the bathroom.  He could hear the water running as she rinsed out the towel.  

He closed his eyes and released his pent-up breath.  She wasn’t leaving! “Well then, why won’t you watch Supertrain with me?”

Walking into the living room, she stopped in front of him and gave him a disbelieving look.  “Seriously? Lucifer, have you looked around you lately?”

The fallen angel glanced about, but didn’t see anything amiss.  Furrowing his brows, he cocked his head. “What?”

She kicked at one of the candy wrappers on the floor, sending up a huge puff of feathers into the air in the process.  “It looks like some trick-or-treaters raided your place, destroying several down comforters in the process.” Putting her hands on her hips, she surveyed the penthouse.  “I need to clean.”

Lucifer’s mouth dropped open.  “Absolutely not!”

Her gaze narrowed as she glared at him.  “I can’t leave this place in such a mess! You’ll get bugs!”

He sniffed.  “I’m the Devil, my dear.  No bug would dare set foot in my abode.  Why the mere suggestion of it is preposterous.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.  “Sure. Tell me that again after the exterminator comes to spray your place.”

He frowned -- the conversation wasn’t going the way he wanted.  The fallen angel patted the cushion next to him and his voice took on a wheedling tone.  “Come on, Detective, relax! I’ll call the cleaning service tomorrow. Just sit and watch the telly with me.”

His partner looked at him, indecision on her face, before her shoulders finally slumped.  With a nod, she walked over and sat down beside him. “Well... I guess it’ll be okay this once.”

“Of course it will be!  Look, we won’t even watch Supertrain, if you don’t want to.”

She lifted an eyebrow at him.  “Oh? Then what will we watch?”

Lucifer’s face lit up with excitement as he changed the channel.  “Lifetime movies! I think ‘My Stepson, My Lover’ is on --”

Chloe slapped her palm on her forehead.  “No, Lucifer. We are not watching a movie called ‘My Stepson, My Lover.’”

“What about ‘Walking the Halls’?  ‘I Me Wed’? You have to admit that one sounds positively kinky.  Or what about ‘Mother, May I Sleep With Danger’?”

“No, no, and no.”

“Oooooh, I know!” The bright smile on his face was adorable, but never the sign of something good.

“I swear to your Dad, if you say ‘Hot Tub High-School’ I’m out of here.”

He pouted and huffed again. How did she know his plan? And how could she not appreciate her awesome movie? Right, she was older now, but she looked even better today.

“No need to bring him into this.” He crossed his arms like a little pre-schooler and Chloe giggled.

“Oh, nice to know I amuse you, Detective, but okay, since I guess your mother’s movies are out too, why don’t you choose something to watch?”

Chloe grinned and stole the remote from his hand. She shouldn’t enjoy this little game when he was so miserable, but it was too much fun. And she knew he wanted company - by now she could see right through his mask. Besides, he wasn’t able to leave the penthouse like this since his wings popped out whenever he made them vanish. Lucifer refused to make a ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame meets shady private investigator’ imitation with a long coat. In their almost naked state his wings would fit under it, but it would look weird.

Of course she would stay a little; she still had a few hours till Trixie would need to go to bed and Maze was her favorite babysitter anyway.

She clicked through his Netflix, searching for something he would enjoy without whining, but which wasn’t as awful as Supertrain or whatever that other crap was he had watched before. Chloe had already forgotten the name, which was surely a good thing.

Aaah, there was something. Maze also liked to watch that kind of trash so she knew it was bearable and sometimes amusing.

Supernatural beings surely had a weak spot for trashy shows.

“Really, Detective? A show about people buying old storage rooms without knowing what really is hidden in there? That’s stupid.”

“Says the Devil who watches ‘American Idol’ and Project Runway’.” Chloe loved those light moments between them and hoped they could slowly go back to more. It wasn’t Lucifer’s fault that he stopped making advances towards her. She knew how scared he was of rejection and that going forward with their _thing_  was now entirely up to her. She snuggled against his side when the show started and she felt Lucifer relax a little. It took three episodes and he was hooked.

She loved how he ranted about idiots buying storage units for items that were clearly fake – even a 3 year old urchin could see that, he had said several times – but it was absolutely adorable. Of course he stated that he would be so much better with that. Chloe got hold of one of his wings in the meantime, preening it a little and grooming the remaining feathers. She knew by now how much he loved it, but she wouldn’t mention it since it was a calming movement.

“If you know so much better, why don’t you go to such an event and buy something?”

“Are you crazy? I won’t get near all that dirt and those ridiculous people, for that would be another ruined suit.”

He thought a moment.  “But... I am curious to see what people put in those places.  Hm. Maybe I _should_ go.”

She batted at his shoulder.  “I was kidding! Don’t you dare go and buy a bunch of storage units -- ah-ah-ah!”  She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to protest. “I know you, Mister Morningstar.  Once there, you wouldn’t be happy with just one -- you’d buy every single unit up for auction and then you’d be left with a mountain full of junk!”

He grinned.  “But one man’s junk could be the Devil’s treasure!”

“You are _not_ going to a storage auction.  You’d make me sift through the garbage with you and I have no intention of doing that.”  

Crossing his arms over his chest, the fallen angel turned back to the television with a pout.  Chloe shook her head and chuckled. There were times when Lucifer was like an adorable five year old boy.  

As they sat together on the couch, she leaned against his arm and enjoyed just being with her partner.  It was times like these that she could almost forget what she had seen on that fateful day in the loft. But really, Lucifer was still Lucifer, no matter what he looked like -- a big Devil dork with a heart of gold.  

When he reached for the tub of sugar-free gummies, she slapped his hand away.  “No. Bad Devil.”

He gazed at her with big puppy dog eyes.  “But I want them!”

“Control yourself, will you?  Believe me, you do _not_ want to eat too many of those things.”  Chloe checked her watch and sat up straight.  “I didn’t realize how late it was! I have to get home.”

“But -- but -- it’s still early!  We haven’t even started watching ‘Canada’s Worst Driver’ yet --”

“It’s ten o’clock!  Trixie has school tomorrow, and I know Maze -- she’ll let her watch horror movies all night long.”  She picked up the tub of gummies and took them to the kitchen sink. Ignoring Lucifer’s cry of horror, she threw them in and turned on the garbage disposal.

“My gummi bears!” he wailed.

Next, she went to his refrigerator and pulled out a bag of carrots that she had bought for him the previous day.  They were still unopened. Sighing, she walked back to the couch and dropped them in his lap. “Eat those.”

“But I don’t want carrots, they’re _healthy!”_

She grinned.  “Exactly. That’s why you should eat them.”

The fallen angel scrunched up his nose like a little kid, then looked at her with hurt in his eyes.  “You’re cruel, Detective!”

Chuckling, she went to the elevator, waving at him.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lucifer. Get some rest, and stop watching trashy television!”

Lucifer glowered until the elevator doors closed, then rose to his feet and dashed to the bar.  Reaching into the cabinet, he pulled out another tub of sugar free gummi bears and started to munch, a satisfied smile on his face.

Carrots…pah, he would not eat those, even when his Detective prepared them for him. No, his gummi bears were definitely the better choice and he would ignore the offending vegetables.

It was boring without the Detective, for he hated to be alone. So for the next hour he sent Chloe random strings of emojis on her phone, followed by comments about the latest storage adventures, but it was just not the same. That Chloe didn’t answer made it worse, even though he knew she was probably busy putting the spawn to bed and eating the stuff she called dinner.

Lucifer sighed. He was hyper from sugar and disgusting gummi bears. So after another 10 minutes of trying to get comfortable on his couch, he’d had enough.

He was Lucifer bloody Morningstar and he refused to be bored another night. Since he couldn’t fly in this state, he took the elevator down to the parking garage and jumped into his corvette.

He shrugged his wings away, which made them itch and burn instantly like fire ants were crawling under his skin, but he couldn’t drive around like a plucked chicken. His reputation would never recover if someone saw him.

It was only one more reason to speed as fast as he could to Chloe’s apartment, and just maybe he ran one or two red lights at that.

Of course he let himself in, despite the fact that the Detective had locked the door - that didn’t apply to him.

As soon as he had entered her home and the door was locked, his wings unfurled on their own, puffing out and sending the last old feathers from his wings everywhere. Great. Hopefully Maze wouldn’t see him. He hated it when she compared him to a naked bird.

First things first. He was hungry and would love to have one of Chloe’s microwaved meals right now. Lucifer shuddered - this molt was doing really weird things to him. He put the cardboard box into the microwave, reached for his ‘visiting stash’ of whisky and his beloved cool ranch puffs while he waited in front of the oven door and watched the food inside.

Meanwhile his wings rubbed themselves against the kitchen counter; the little stunt with putting them away hadn’t been a clever idea at all. But since when was Lucifer known for having them?

“Lucifer!” Suddenly there was something attached to his waist and he nearly dropped his glass. Apparently his nightly shenanigans had lured the little human out of her bed.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed, spawn?”

“Shouldn’t you be at home at this time?”

“Touché.” The little one was far too clever for his liking and he offered her some of his snacks. “Where is your mother, anyway?”

“I’m right behind you - the question is: what are you doing here?” Chloe looked around, raising an eyebrow at the feathery explosion, a guilty looking devil and Trixie who was suddenly in a hurry to get back to bed.

“Bye, Lucifer!  I like your cosplay wings!” the little girl cried as she pushed past the adults.  Pausing at the base of the stairs, she turned around and smiled. “Are you trying to be the KFC grilled chicken mascot?  You need some dipping sauce!”

Lucifer made several choking noises before he sputtered, “Well, I never!”

A smile touched Chloe’s lips as she started after her daughter.  “Go to bed, you little weasel!”

Giggling, Trixie dashed up the stairs, squeezing by Maze, who was on her way down.  The demon watched the girl disappear around the corner, then lifted an eyebrow at Chloe as she trotted down the steps.  

“What’s going on?” she asked, then caught sight of Lucifer and his mostly naked wings.  She burst out laughing and pointed at him before doubling over.

Chloe bit her lower lip in dismay, then glanced at Lucifer to see his thunderous expression.  This was not going to go well. She hurried to her partner’s side and held up her hands in a calming gesture.  “Now, Lucifer, she’s not laughing at you --”

“Oh yes I am!”  Maze gasped for breath as she held her side and grinned.  “I forgot how ridiculous Lucifer looks when he’s molting! Y-you look like a reject from Zachary Farms!”

The fallen angel sidestepped Chloe and stormed over to his demon, anger evident in his stiff gait.  His wings flared, stretching out in a threatening manner. “Have a care, Maze.”

She cackled even louder.  “You look like a cross between a bat and a bird!  We can call you Bat Bird! Maybe you can join Batman’s zoo right next to Bat Cow!”

Afraid she was witnessing the beginning of the Apocalypse, Chloe dashed over and squeezed herself between the two.  Holding back the growling Devil, she glanced at her roommate over her shoulder. “Why don’t you go back upstairs? I’ll take care of Lucifer.”

Maze immediately stopped laughing and scowled.  “You take all the fun out of everything, Decker.”  But she went.

Turning to Lucifer, the detective saw that the tension had left his body, and his wings were drooping.  He looked away, his lips pursed.

“Why don’t you laugh too?  I’m sure I look hilarious.”

Pain filled Chloe’s heart at the hurt radiating off of him in waves.  “You know I’d never do that.”

“Why not?  Everyone else would,” he said bitterly.

She pulled him into her arms and hugged him tightly, just like she would do with Trixie when she was unhappy.  “Because I’m not everyone, Lucifer. I’m your partner, and I’d never laugh at you.”

He stood stiffly in her arms, as if unsure what to do, but gradually he relaxed and returned her embrace.  Pressing his cheek against her hair, he spoke so softly that she almost didn’t catch what he said. “What would I do without you?”

“You would be terribly unwell and without a proper dinner. Am I right that you didn’t touch the carrots?” He didn’t need to answer, for she knew him too well for this.

Lucifer let out a little hum and Chloe smiled. “Then it’s good I have the dinners you think are made in hell because of their taste, and that yours is finished.”

She touched Lucifer’s cheek after he released her from his grip.

“Lucifer, I would never make fun of you. And this-“ she gestured at his wings, “is something natural for you and your siblings. It’s like making fun of women getting their period.”

“But I look so…so….”

“You look as beautiful and dashing as ever. You should know that.” Chloe blushed a little, but didn’t break eye contact with him.

“But you know that I don’t look like this.” He was still full of self hatred, and hated how he had revealed himself to Chloe.

“It doesn’t matter, Lucifer, not to me. You are my Lucifer. I don’t care how you look and you shouldn’t either.” She cupped his face and stroked her thumb over his stubble before she pecked him on his cheek.

“Detective…” He was at a loss for words. She had kissed him. Not like the beach kiss or the kiss before everything went downhill, but she had, despite what lay beneath his glamour and the fact that Chloe knew. She knew his monstrous side and wasn’t appalled. She hadn’t seen it since then, but she still knew and touched him in such an intimate manner.

“Lucifer? Hey, stop dreaming, your food is getting cold. Come on, sit down and I will prepare the couch for you. No, I won’t share my bed with you. Not only are you a blanket thief, but your shedding feathers will poke me all night.” She looked around the apartment and pinched the bridge of her nose. “And I have to clean up your feathery mess in the morning.”

Lucifer was suddenly very intent on the ‘meal’ in front of him as he sat down. “But your couch is way too small for me and it’s uncomfortable. You should let me buy you a new one, a proper one you can make a bed out of, or else let me sleep in your bed? I need your care, after all.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and in response only got her favorite eye roll. “If you don’t want to sleep on the couch, fine. Then you can use the floor or your own bed. Don’t forget that I live with a child and I have a lot of experience in resisting your innocent Devil look. It’s not working on me. And now… eat.”

Lucifer murmured something, but couldn’t resist and stole some glances at her while she was preparing his nest. Okay, the couch could hardly be described as one, but he would take what he could get.

Once she was done with the sofa, Chloe sat next to him while he ate, her elbow propped up on the table and her chin resting on her hand.  The microwave dinner usually tasted like cardboard, but tonight he found it strangely delicious. Glancing at her as he scraped his plate of the last morsel, he frowned.  She looked especially beautiful in the light, but also very tired. Her eyelids kept falling over her lovely aqua eyes.

His heart squeezed painfully at the sight, for he hadn’t realized that he was wearing her out.  When he pushed his plate away, she reached for it, but he covered her hand with his and gave her a smile.  “I’ll do the dishes, Detective. Why don’t you go to bed? You look exhausted.”

“I’m okay,” she said, then yawned.  Smiling sheepishly, she stood up. “Well, maybe I’m a little tired -- it’s been a long day.  You’ll be okay?”

He gave her his best puppy-dog look.  “I’d be better in your bed.”

She snorted.  “If you try to join me in bed, I swear I’ll throw brussel sprouts at you.”

The fallen angel shuddered at the thought of the vegetable stalk in the refrigerator, with its bulbous edible buds.  If he hadn’t lived in Hell, he would have thought that the weird alien plant had come from there. “I’ll stay on the couch.”

“Wise man.”  Yawning again, she waved.  “I’ll see you in the morning, then.  Good night, Lucifer.” Before he could say anything, she dragged herself upstairs.

He watched until she turned the corner and vanished from sight, then smiled tenderly.  “Good night, Detective.”

 


	3. Epilogue

It took all of ten days for Lucifer’s feathers to return.  

He preened in front of the mirror of his bathroom, modeling in various poses as he admired his pristine wings.  Chloe had come every day, helping him wipe off the waxy substance from his pin feathers, and for the first time since he had ended up in Hell, he’d had a very easy molt.  There had been very few ingrown feathers, and what little there were, his partner gently removed. Her tender care of him during his molting had truly touched his heart.

And thankfully, he no longer craved microwave cardboard food or those horrendous sugar-free gummi bears that left a terrible chemical aftertaste in his mouth.  He couldn’t understand why he would have bought three dozen two-pound tubs of them! He had gone through two dozen tubs during his molt when Chloe hadn’t been looking, but that left a dozen he had to get rid of... and he definitely wasn’t going to eat them now!

Maybe he could give them to the department?  Surely there was someone there who would eat them...?  He grinned.

Of course they would eat them.

Lucifer grabbed two of the tubs – if he brought all of them, it would seem a little suspicious – and drove to the precinct.

“Daniel!” When Lucifer spotted him, he pushed the gummi bears into the Douche’s arms. “You are looking after your diet, so I thought you would like these great sugar free gummi bears.”

And before the confused Detective could answer anything, Lucifer was already around the corner, leaving Dan behind, who eyed the tub and squinted his eyes at it. What was the stupid club owner up to now?

This couldn’t be right - Lucifer wasn’t nice. Apparently Daniel had never heard of those gummi bears.

The second tub was put into the precinct kitchen for everyone to raid. Who said the Devil couldn’t be generous? That was Lucifer’s good deed for today and he took his seat next to the Detective, who was busy researching something on her computer.

“Ah, there you are. I was afraid you got lost in preening in front of your mirror.” She chuckled and grinned at him, which made him pout.

“Next time just tell me from the beginning, okay? I will assist you with your wings then, even if this won’t be necessary for a few more years, right?”

Lucifer nodded and started building a paperclip chain. “Indeed, it’s an annoyance, but I’m happy to have you. You did a very fine job, I must say. One would think you are an angel yourself, since some of my brothers can’t groom wings like you can.” He purred and smiled at her.

That adorable smile that made her heart melt a little, for it was honest and rare. He reserved it for her alone.

“Okay, under one condition.” She grew more serious. “You will not come into my home when you are molting. I’m still finding feathers everywhere and it has been a while now. It’s like animal hair - they get everywhere without you noticing it.”

“But Detective –“

“Or if you come, I will wrap your wings in plastic bags so the feathers fall directly into them.” She now grinned at the pouting Devil who started to say something, but was interrupted by a happily screeching Ella running by.

“Guys, guys! Free gummi bears in the kitchen, a lot of them, get them for as long as you can.” Her sweet tooth was almost as big as Lucifer’s.

Said Devil was now concentrating very hard on his paperclip chain masterpiece while Chloe glared at him.

“What? You said I shouldn’t always raid Dan’s pudding, but when I bring stuff it’s not okay either. OUCH!” Chloe slapped him with the folder she had in her hands.

“If they are after you, it’s not my fault. Now come, we have a case to solve.”

And with that, he abandoned his piece of art and strolled after her with his hands in his pockets. Nothing had really changed, and Lucifer loved it that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Dans were harmed from gummi bears during this scene.
> 
> Thanks everyone for reading our little collaboration fic! You are all awesome! <3
> 
> And if you're curious about the effects of the sugar-free gummi bears, check out the reviews on Amazon here and you'll see why Chloe was horrified. XD  
> [Gummi bears from hell ](https://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gold-Bears-Delicious-Packaging-Packaging/dp/B000EVOSE4/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1542739004&sr=8-3&keywords=haribo%2Bsugar%2Bfree%2Bgummy%2Bbears&th=1)


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